U.S. justices decline to hear second Oklahoma abortion case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday
declined to review a decision striking down an Oklahoma law that
required any woman seeking an abortion to be shown an ultrasound
image of the fetus beforehand.

By refusing to hear the case, the high court left intact an
Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that struck down the law on the
basis that it violated the U.S. Supreme Court's precedent on
abortion restrictions.

It was the second time in two weeks that the high court had
declined to review an Oklahoma court ruling that struck down an
abortion restriction.

Last week, the court dismissed another case concerning a
state law in Oklahoma that cracked down on the use of the
abortion-inducing drug RU-486.

The state of Oklahoma asked the Supreme Court to hear the
ultrasound case, saying the brief state court opinion issued in
December 2012 did not explain the rationale for its ruling.

Nova Health Systems, which provides reproductive health
services, including abortions, and physician Larry Burns filed
suit in 2010, claiming the law, which they view as unduly
invasive, was unconstitutional under Oklahoma state law. A
district court in Oklahoma issued an injunction preventing
enforcement of the law in March 2012.